1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a grease guiding tray for a kitchen ventilator, more particularly to a grease guiding tray which can prevent the spilling of grease that has accumulated thereon when the kitchen ventilator is in use.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional kitchen ventilator, a grease guiding tray is installed at the periphery of an inlet port of a ventilator housing, the inlet port being located below an exhaust fan of the kitchen ventilator. Grease or oil droplets from fumes drawn by the exhaust fan accumulate on the grease guiding tray and are guided by the same to a collecting unit, such as a grease cup. Usually, the grease guiding tray is spaced from the exhaust fan at an appropriate distance. Thus, when the exhaust fan is operated, all of the fumes drawn by the exhaust fan cannot be instantly delivered to the exhaust duct, thereby resulting in air currents between the grease guiding tray and the exhaust fan which can result in the spilling of the grease that has accumulated on the grease guiding tray.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional grease guiding tray 1 which is installed in a kitchen ventilator. The kitchen ventilator includes a ventilator housing 3 which has a bottom side that is formed with an inlet port 3a, an exhaust duct 3b which is mounted in the ventilator housing 3 and which has a bottom side formed with an opening 3c that is aligned with the inlet port 3a, and an exhaust fan 2 which is mounted in the exhaust duct 3b. The exhaust fan 2 includes a fan motor 2b with a drive shaft 2c, and a fan blade unit. The fan blade unit includes a bowl-shaped top plate 2d that is connected to the drive shaft 2c, an annular wall member 2a that is disposed below the top plate 2d and that diverges gradually from a bottom end thereof, and a plurality of fan blades 2e disposed between the top plate 2d and the wall member 2a. Each of the fan blades 2e has a top edge connected to the top plate 2d and a bottom edge connected to the wall member 2a.
The grease guiding tray 1 can minimize the risk of spilling of grease that has accumulated thereon when the kitchen ventilator is in use. The grease guiding tray 1 includes an annular tray body with concentric inner and outer rings 1a, 1b that project upwardly therefrom. The inner and outer rings 1a, 1b confine an annular grease collecting path 1c therebetween. An annular fence 1d is disposed in the grease collecting path 1c and serves to prevent the spilling of grease in the grease collecting path 1c. The grease guiding tray 1 is to be seated on an inner side of the inlet port 3a of the ventilator housing 3 such that the outer ring 1b is disposed around the opening 3c of the exhaust duct 3b, and such that the inner ring 1aand the annular fence 1d are disposed spacedly and respectively on inner and outer sides of the wall member 2a of the fan blade unit.
The drawbacks of the conventional grease guiding tray 1 are as follows:
1. The grease guiding tray 1 is incapable of fully preventing the spilling of grease that has accumulated thereon when the kitchen ventilator is in use. When the exhaust fan 2 is operated, the air currents that are generated (as shown by the arrows) can force the grease in the grease collecting path 1c to overflow. Particularly, air current which passes through a hole 1e in the annular fence 1d can force grease in an inner portion 1c' of the grease collecting path 1c between the annular fence 1d and the inner ring 1ato move past the inner ring 1aand spill from the grease guiding tray 1. Air current which passes through a clearance formed between the annular fence 1d and the wall member 2a can also force grease in the inner portion 1c' of the grease collecting path 1c to move past the inner ring 1aand spill from the grease guiding tray 1.
2. The presence of the annular fence 1d causes some inconvenience in the installation of the conventional grease guiding tray 1. When installing the grease guiding tray 1, the clearance between the annular fence 1d and the wall member 2a should be kept as small as possible to minimize the risk of spilling of grease in the grease collecting path 1c. However, in, actual practice, this clearance should be made as wide as possible to facilitate installation of the grease guiding tray 1 and to allow for a margin of error during installation to prevent the fan blade unit of the exhaust fan 2 from striking the annular fence 1d when the exhaust fan 2 is in use.